Improvement in fanning-mills



ATEN'T QFFICE.

B; F. RANDELL,0F DES MOINES, IOWA.'

i IMPROVEMENT IN FANNIN'G'r-MILLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 87,706, dated Marc/t 9, 1869.

To all whom lit may concern Be it known that I, B E RANDELL, of Des Moines, in the county ot' Polk, and in the State of Iowa, have invented a new and usetul Imprcvement in Fanning-Mills; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and yto the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in an 'improvement upon the adjustment of screens specification, and in which- Figure lis a perspective, and Fig. 2 a side elevation in section.

A represents the frame of a fanningmill. B is the hopper through which the grain is poured onto the gang of riddles C. D represents the drum. which contains the fan E. From a pulley, F, on the end ofthe fanIshaft, a rod or pt' man, G, connects with a lever, H, 'giving said leverabackward andforward motion. Another rod, which connects the lever G with the gang of riddles, gives them a reciprocating side motion.

Under the gang of riddles C is placed a i frame, I, inclined toward the rear ot the machine, which frame, being also connected by a rod with the lever G, obtains an-up-and-down motion-the sides of the frame I are grooved,

and in these grooves is placed a movable or slide screen, L, which can be moved4 up or down in said grooves, making the `cut-oiior aperture et at the front end larger or smaller, as may be desired-this cut'o or aperture being made larger when cleaningwheat for seed than when cleaning merchantable wheat.

There is also a second screen or board, J, .immediately under the aperture or cutoff, a, so made, whichscreeu or board is also placed in grooves on the sides of the frame I. The board J catches and conveys the wheat that falls through the aperture a into a box, K, under the mill. This wheat so caught and conveyed will be suitable for merchantable wheat when the mill is used to clean seedwheat, and at the same time the seed-wheat isconveyed by the slide-screen L above mentioned down to the end of' the mill. This seed, by such adjustment, will be pure, separated from oats, fennel-seeds, and imperfect grains.

When the mill is used to clean for market, the aperture or openinga is made much smaller by the operator, so as only to cut oft' two or three quarts to the bushel, which two or three quarts can be taken up and run over again.

The principle is this: So far, or nearly so, as the gang of riddles above the slide or movable screen is kept full of wheat the oats are carried by the motion of the gang down upon the wheat toward the end ofthe gang whence the chaff issues, so that the oat-s do not begin to fall or sift through till near said end, when the wheat is very light upon the gang, and permits the oats to sift through, which leaves a pure stream of wheat falling for near two# thirds ot' the length lof the gang of riddles. Meanwhile the wind from the fans blows all foul seed, Ste., equally as far forward.

Hence, in running for seed-wheat, by drawing up the slide or movable screen L just far enough, the pure stream of' wheat mentioned is caught and conveyed down to the end of the mill by itself in a pure state, while the balance falls through the aperture or cut-off tt, and is caught and carried by the aforementioned board or under screen J into the said box K, under the mill, and is clean enough for merchantable purposes.

By drawing up the slide-screen L so as to leave no cut-oft' or aperture, the machine operates as other mills.

By the adjustment and cut-off above described the gan got' riddles can be used with less j inclination or deeetion toward the end 'where the chaiiissues than is requisite in other mills, and thereby prevents the running over of wheat with oats and chaffl to the extent that is requisite or is the case in other mills.

rlhe gang of riddles, C, which I use is also different from any heretofore used. In other machines each seperate screen or riddle is inserted in grooves in the freine, which, when they are to be cleaned, necessitates :igreat deal of trouble. I connect all the screens together, and insert them in the frame :it one time. Thus, when they are to be cleaned, they een all be cleaned at one time instead of each separately.

Having thus fully described my invention, y

Providing a fnnningmill with e movable or sliding screen under the gang of ri(ldles,where by an optional cutoff is obtained, for the pun pose of separating seed-wheat from merchant- :tble Wheat, substantially as herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 16th dey of October, 1868.

B. F. RANDELL.

Witnesses:

LEoPoLD EVERT, A. N. MARR. 

